Slender

Wally snorted in frustration as the rest of the team had a barrier around the small ebony's room at the Cave, his arms firmly crossing over his chest as his eyes darted between each of them in search of a way to get through. They were tightly packed though, not even the slightest of a chance that he would be able to slip his muscled frame through the cracks without crushing himself to death. That didn't stop him from pushing through them, parting the women rather than where Conner stood with the thought if he had that he would've been crushed for sure.

"Would it kill you guys to give him some space?" he griped, glaring accusingly at them before setting his ear to the wood of the door and knocking sharp and quick. "Rob, it's just me. Can I come in?"

There was a quiet little whimper, but he got no more of a response than that. It didn't seem to bother him though, instead being all he needed to hear to work his way through the heavy lock on the door, pushing the others back.

"Doesn't Canary need you guys, or something?" he hinted strongly just as the lock threw back, allowing him to ease open the door and slip himself in.

The second his Converse crossed through the door, he gasped in pain at the sharp spike that shot from the new puncture wound straight to his head and back. He was quick to close the door before letting out a small curse under the hiss of pain, pulling the poisonless dart from his ankle and looking around the unbearably bright room.

"I know you're scared, Robbie, but do you really have to have every light on?" a pale hand shaded the emerald eyes from the full intensity, blinking fast to adjust to the harsh change in light.

It took him a second to locate Dick beneath all the pillows and blankets he had burrowed himself beneath, his arms in a death grip over a certain pillow to the point where it seemed to have deflated and died long ago from suffocation. His blue eyes were wide and exposed at their largest level, his pupils darting faster than the speedster was sure he could move on his best days.

"Get over here," Dick demanded in a trembling breath, making no other acknowledgement to Wally's entrance to his room.

He didn't smile, he didn't lighten his hold, he didn't try to get out of hiding just a little more, he didn't wave and he definitely didn't seem to be any less afraid. In fact, having his room invaded only seemed to worsen the already offset mood, the smallest of tears verging along the thirteen year old's waterline where they were beyond ready to fall.

Wally nodded, making sure to relock the door tight before walking to the bed that held his best friend, climbing up onto the quilts and sitting beside the huddled mass of the ebony. He began to turn, green eyes warm with comfort, before the pillow in Dick's arms was quickly tossed aside and the trembling muscled arms bound tight around the ginger's middle, pulling him back until Dick's forehead rested to the nape of his neck and two fearful legs were bound around his waist to secure him in place.

The fifteen year old tensed, gasping in surprise, but he didn't shrug it off. He wrapped his arms around the ones around him, resting his hands on the tanner ones resting between his ribs that shook as if they housed a small earthquake within. He scooted back just enough that Dick fit right into in, bowing his head just a little bit to hide his smile.

"There… see, I'm right here… No one's going to hurt you. Nothing can get to you. I won't let them. I'll die before anything even tries to touch you… right?" he peeked his head back, his freckles seeming a bit more pink than they normally were.

Dick raised his head from the flannel shirt, the same fearful tears glistening in his eyes as he shook his head slowly, opening his hand just enough that he could catch the ginger's hands in them and hold them tightly. He buried his face back in the pattern, his back to the wall now, the molecules of his baggy black hoodie and dark skinny jeans molding in with the lighter jeans and the flannel half-shirt of the teen in front of him.

"You can't protect me, Wally… he has no eyes, but he's always watching… he's always there… he's always following you and he won't stop until he has you. If you even look at him, he has you… I c-can't lose you to him," the ebony sobbed without letting a single tear fall, his frantic heartbeat seeming to cause the vicious tremors to race through his whole body.

Wally's eyes grew wide and he spun just a bit, peeling Dick from his back and switching their position in a way so it was his back that hit the cool of the wall, the younger boy straddling his lap. The tan arms were quick to bind around his neck, the teary eyes resting on his shoulder, the same choky breath parting the hard frown. This way, Wally could protectively wrap his arms around the small of the ebony's back, running his fingers comfortingly along the hidden flesh.

"He's not real, Robbie… I never should've shown you Slenderman… I didn't think you'd react like this…" he leaned his head against his best friend's, slowing his breath to slow his heart, "He doesn't exist. He was just a meme created a long time ago… He's just a video game character now. He's not real and he never will be… you're going to be okay, birdy… please don't cry…"

The ebony stuttered a retort, but a, "Who's crying?" couldn't slip past without dropping the first lone tear down to the red pattern on the cloth beneath his eyes.

Wally swallowed hard, calmly petting the teen's back in small circles, hushing him with small noises, smiling a bit wider when the small sounds of snores eventually began to drift up into his ears. Dick had fallen asleep in his arms… how cute. It actually made him chuckle happily, the rise and fall of the smaller chest against his own more comforting than anything else had been in that day.

Before he could close his eyes though, the distinct warble of static opened his eyes cautiously, darting the jade irises to-and-fro across the greatly illuminated room. The static only grew louder the longer he looked around, his grip on the small frame in his arms tightening as the TV in the corner snapped on and began to heavily snow. He forced his eyes shut, burying his eyes in Dick's neck, having an intense fear of the snow.

"No such thing as the Grudge either… just a Japanese creation… to scare stupid kids like me… no one can pass through the radio waves and come out through glass of sorts into the real world through such a distance… dead girls can't come back… broken limbs can't scale wells… Don't be a wimp, West," he scolded himself, biting his lip hard.

His last straw was when his phone began to static in his pocket. It didn't stay there long, quickly exploding against the wall with a loud enough clatter to snap Dick up on the ginger's lightly shaking arms, eying the irritated face in a sleepy confusion.

"Nn… W..wally?" he muttered in a slur, his eyebrows lazily furrowed.

The ginger cursed as he realized he had waken up his friend, rubbing his back again mostly to console himself now, eyes darting fierce.

"It's nothing, Rob… just go back to sleep," he urged, keeping his voice strong.

It was too late though, as told by how wide the blue eyes grew at the realization of the static. His arms quickly crushed the breath from Wally's lungs, a muffled scream pouring out onto Wally's chest where it immediately warmed the flesh for a second. The chill that resulted when the lips moved wasn't a lot of help.

"I told you!" the ebony shrieked, a few tears falling out fast, his nails scraping along the clothed flesh, saving him from a series of bloody cuts. "He found us!"

Wally shook his head, but he was starting to think it too, pulling his teeth from his bottom lip, "Don't… d-don't be silly… He's not real…"

The second the door began to creep open though, he gave a very un-manly scream and returned the favor of leaving the ebony breathless. Dick didn't even try to lift his face, screaming with the older boy, his whole frame racking hard from the fear. What they never did hear though, even after their screams stopped, was a threatening noise of sorts. In fact, it was a small chuckle that cautiously cracked one of Wally's eyes, screaming even louder at the person in the doorway.

"Batman! I-I swear! I'm not doing anything to him! He was scared a-a-and I was just p-protecting him and-!" the ginger began to defend himself, lightening his hug from a beyond death-grip to a slightly suicidal one, not quite to that painful edge.

Dick retracted his nails from the flannel, looking up at Wally with tear-filled eyes, looking so vulnerable and innocent that he quickly had a nose nestled in his black locks, eyes closed tight at just the sight of him.

"I'm aware of… the situation, Kid Flash. I just came to check on my sidekick," Batman nodded curtly, turning his eyes to the trembling frame, "Are you alright, Robin?"

Dick shook his head back and forth, squeaking in horror as the static of the TV was cut by a simple press of the power button.

"S-Scared!" was all Batman drew from the muffled slur speech, being all he really needed to hear.

"No one's going to get you, I promise. The static was just me disabling the lock as quick as I could, turning off the electric power it runs from. You don't need all these lights… nothing could get within the Cave's security systems. It's safer here than anywhere else in the world. It's a lot more safer than back… you know… so if you want to stay here tonight, I understand. Flash has already given you permission, Kid Flash," Batman steadied his eyes, seeming a bit out of place with this nice trait shining through the black of his costume.

The personality change wasn't much help to the fear the two heroes had, still holding each other tight with conflicting looks. Neither could manage a word, instead just Dick nodded his head, entangling his fingers in the flannel half-jacket and trying to stop his tears.

"Alright. I'll see you tomorrow then. If you let me turn off the lights, I'll turn the security system on to its fullest height so only I can get in until the code has been entered to change it back. Is that okay?"

Dick nodded again, still whimpering as the excruciating brightness became a comforting darkness, his face still nestled on his best friend's chest.

"Goodnight," Batman shut the door behind him, relocking it and leaving the two in silence.

The held breath between the two of them seemed to stretch on forever before a shuddery final sob broke the quiet and Wally continued tracing random paths along the hidden flesh.

"You heard him… if the one thing scarier than Slenderman promises us that we're safe, I say we're going to be safe… let's go to sleep," the ginger breathed quietly into the ebony's ear.

Dick had no objection, closing his eyes and forcing himself not to think of how close the darkness behind his eyelids resembled the long and winding tendrils that just pleaded to close around his middle and wrench him from the one place he felt safest.